Aditi tied 9th at Los Angeles, eyes season’s first top-10 finish

Team Udayavani, Apr 23, 2018, 9:24 AM IST

Los Angeles: India’s Aditi Ashok made a superb charge on the back nine with two birdies and an eagle 2 on a Par-4 at the Hugel-JTBC Los Angeles Open to close in on her first top-10 finish of the season. Aditi, playing her second season, shot 2-under 69 to move to T-9 after the third round yesterday. She had rounds of 68 and 73 on the first two days at the Wilshire Country Club.

Aditi had a sedate start with just one bogey on the very first hole on the front nine and that brought her back from overnight 1-under to even par. She birdied the 10th, but gave that back on 11th. An eagle on par-4 14th set her up nicely and she added a birdie on par-4 16th and ended at 69 to be 3-under for the tournament.

Moriya Jutanugarn (70) and Jin Young-Ko (66) were in shared lead at 9-under 204. Jutanugarn, the 36-hole leader, got off to a rough start with a double bogey at the first hole and she followed that with another bogey at the sixth. But Jutanugarn sister remained steady and bounced back with a birdie at the par 4, eighth. Then, it was an eagle at the par 4, 14th that ultimately turned around her day. 

Jutanugarn trailed rookie Jin Young Ko, who, for the second consecutive day, went low, matching the low round of the day with a 5-under par, 66 yesterday. Ko and Jutanugarn lead at 9-under par, two-strokes clear of Inbee Park. A little behind are Eun-Hee Ji and Marina Alex who sit at 6-under par.